What at first appears to be a normal job for professional
burglar Junior Bender leaves him blackmailed into helping a mobster. But what that mobster wants to do is even
more surprising - and dangerous.

I found the characters very real, engaging, and
enjoyable. Unfortunately, I found the
plot uneven and the foul language a bit more than I can tolerate. Then again, this isn't my normal choice for
reading material, so it's on me. I'm
glad I tried it because I was curious about the series, but I won't read any
more.

FBI Kate O'Hare has been chasing conman Nick Fox for years. But when she finally catches him, her life is
turned upside down. Now she finds
herself teamed up with him to try to catch another criminal.

To me, this book felt like a melding of the TV shows White
Collar and Castle, both of which I love.
It was funny and a wild ride. The
pace was just a little off at times, but for the most part I enjoyed this romp.

American Civil War vet John Carter is shocked to find
himself suddenly on Mars where he becomes a semi-prisoner of a race of
aliens. But then he meets another human
and sets out to free them both.

I enjoyed the movie from last year and finally got around to
reading the book. It was a lot of fun
even if most of the plot was familiar thanks to the movie. There was one slow section that seemed to
come out of no where to slow things down, but on the whole it was worth
reading.

Lady Georgiana is asked to come to an estate in 1930's England to
teach the new heir to the dukedom proper upper society manners. This heir has just been discovered and has
been raised in the Australian Outback.
However, not too long after this heir arrives, Georgie has to add
sleuthing to her list of things to do when someone gets a knife in the back -
literally.

These trips back in time are always fun, and this one was no
exception. I loved the new characters
and the tension was so thick I always had a hard time putting it down.

The first book in this long running kids series introduces
us to Encyclopedia Brown and his mind for facts. As in all the books, there are 10 cases for
him to solve, and we are given the clues to solve them along with him.

I'd love to say that I figured all these out on this
reread. Really, I would. A few I remembered, but most of the time I
was stumped. I had a rough idea what the
clue was, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
Guess I'm still not smarter than a fifth grader.

This is the second book about reporter Jane Ryland and Boston detective Jake
Brogan. This time around, Jane is
helping a former co-worker find out if she was sent to the wrong woman while
trying to track down her birth mother.
Meanwhile, she is also covering a murder that Jake is investigating. A woman is found murdered. Two kids under 3, both alive, are in the next
room. It looks like a simple domestic
dispute except the woman has no ID anywhere in the apartment.

I loved the book. It
started fast and never let me go until I reached the end. The characters were great as well, and I had
a blast spending time with all of them.

Isabel's hostile take over of the family's PI firm has not
gone well. As her parents rebel, she
tries to juggle the cases and the paperwork side of the business.

All this is served with multiple storylines and plenty of
laughs. The characters are as rich as
always, and the ending is great. No,
this isn't the last we'll hear from the Spellmans, but the ending of the book
explains the title perfectly.

Max Holman has just been released from prison when he gets
the news that his estranged son, a police officer, has been murdered. When the official story doesn't add up, Max
begins poking around. But is he in over
his head?

Another of Crais' stand alone novels, I found this one
rather disappointing. The plot was a
little too obvious. And, as a completely
personal issue, the language also bothered me.
On the other hand, the characters were great and compelled me further
into the story.

Meg is the assistant direct at the Un-fair, a local
alternative to the state fair. The first
morning things get off to a rough start with some vandalism and theft,
including two heritage chickens from the chicken tent. Throw in tension in the wine pavilion and things
are hoping before the dead body shows up.

While I didn't find this one as laugh out loud funny as some
of the previous entries, I did really enjoy it.
The plot was good and the characters - new and old - were fun. Meg's twins stole every scene they were in,
too. Fans of the series or lighter
cozies in general will love it.

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I'm an accountant by trade but a reviewer at heart. Top reviewer at Amazon. Love to read, watch TV and movies, and listen to music. And I'm always looking to share and discuss what I am currently consuming.

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